A fraud alert is a ninety day flag on your credit report. Any credit application in your name will be checked to confirm the identity. A fraud alert can be used in conjunction with the free credit report:

“Whenever you activate a fraud alert, you’re eligible to receive another credit report from each of the bureaus, Givens said. So instead of receiving three free reports a year, you could obtain 15 — your regular three free ones, plus three others every 90 days.”

link: Protect yourself from identity theft for free

The ninety day expiry calls for some planning on your part. However, it can become part of a routine that you do this, approximately every three months. The inconvenience of having to do this, throughout the year, is nothing in comparison to having your credit rating jeopardized by identity theft.

Catherine Forsythe

Tags: identity theft, security, fraud alert, credit report, ninety days